Glasses



July 30, 1935. H, B, MC URDO 2,009,700

GLASSES I I 1 Filed April 10, 1933 IN V EN TOR.

A TTORNEYSQ Patented July 30, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GLASSESHew B. 'McMurdo; Atlanta, Ga. Application April 10,1933, Serial No.665,292 5 Claims. (01. 88-41) This inventionrelates to apparatus for theuse of golfers, and includes means whereby the player is enabled to lineor. groove his stroke, with attendant benefits to his game.

In golf, a correct stroke is very important. Once the player hasmastered the fundamentals of stance, grip and swing,v his progress inthe game will depend largely upon his ability toireproduce the correctswing time after time until the muscles together with all otheranatomical a,

structure concerned become co-ordinated in the production of .asoundswing. When this condition has been brought about, the stroke-is said tobe grooved. Many golfers play over long periods of time without markedimprovement, and the main reason forthis is that their strokes, withouttheir knowing it, are seldom made twice alike, and hence cannot becomegrooved. .Experts, on the contrary, through years of painstakingpractice and study, have-learned to make their strokes alike, and whenthis state is achieved, successful golf is the reward. 4

Of prime importance in securing a sound golf stroke is the factor ofbalance. Once started in the right line, the club willtend to hold itscourse until outside forces cause a. change, which forces may compriseanything that tends to throw the player off balance. In this regard, thegolfers 'head is particularly significant. The average human head weighsfrom 10 to 14 pounds, and during the golf swing itoccupi'es a positionat the top of a concave are, which fact at once makes apparent itsimportance as a balancing agent during the golf stroke, any headmovement out of ,proper position resulting at once in unbalancing theremainder of the body, with attendant disas-- trous effects upon theswing. In fact, it may be taken as established, that no golf swing canbe wellbalanced unless the headremains in its' vice to maintain the headincorrect position during the golf stroke.

Another object is toprovide a special lens in a device of this type, theconstruction of which makes possible the functioning of said device inan eihcient and satisfactory manner;

A further object is to provide in a device. of this kind, means in thenature of guide lines to further assist the golfer in grooving hisswing.

A still further object is to provide in agdevice of the foregoing type,means for adapting it to individuals of varying ages and golfingcharacteristics.

These and other objects made apparent throughout the further descriptionof this invention are accomplished by means of my grooved stroke golflens, the better understanding of which is made possible by reference tothe drawing herein, in which:

- Fig. 1 is aview in perspective of a preferred form of my invention.

Fig. 2- is a view in vertical cross-section of the left lens of thedevice illustrated in Fig. 1, taken along the line II-'1I- thereof. 0

Fig.3 is a view of the lens illustrated in Fig. 1, said lens being takenfrom the left side of said device and having guide lines thereon.

, Fig. 4 is a rear view of a modification of my invention, showingcertain features additional to those set forth in Fig. 1. 7

Referring now to the drawing, Fig. 1, my device comprises two lensesheld in operative alignment as by a frame HL. This frame may resemblethe shell. frames frequently associated with a pair of spectacles, ormay consist simply of a bridge and lens straps as in the case ofso-called rimless glasses. Temple'bars ll serve to keep the device inposition on the face of a wearer, although'other conventional means suchas a pince-nez arrange ment may be'em'ployed'if desired.

Both lenses of my invention are preferably larger than those of ordinaryglasses, and the right lens I2 is colored, as is indicated by the shadelines on the drawing; such coloring being of anydesired nature todistinguish this lens from the left lens l3, which is clear and withoutpigmentation. Experiments have shown that an amber hue for lens I! isideal, although any othertint may be resorted to in attaining thefunction explained in detail elsewhere herein. In thisconnection it mayalso beremarked that lenses l2 and l' 3may be constructed of anysuitable transparent material to give the desired effect, glass and/orcelluloid being examples of such.

Special attention is now directed to the left lens l3 of my invention.This lens is preferably made with a greater convexity than the rightlens, said curvature being indicated at (Fig. 2), the purpose of suchconstruction being made clear in another part of this specification. .Asan example of what may be considered a suitable ratio of convexity.between the two lenses, it may be stated that embodiments of myinvention in which the right lens is constructed with a 6 base and theleftlens with a 9 base, have *proven very satisfactory, although I donotlimit myself to any fixed ratio in this regard. 'If' desired, either orboth lenses may be ground to correct any weaknesses of the user's eyes.

Fig. 3 illustrates a modification of my device, the general structurebeing contemplated as the ,same as that illustrated in Fig. 1, with theexthe right lens is different from that shown in Fig. l, in that it hassituated to the left side thereof and in its corner an opaque portion orsection I, the purpose 05 which is explained hereafter.

The operation of my device is as follows: Assuming for the purpose ofillustration that the color of the right lens is amber, and that agolfer has adjusted the device upon his face much in the same mannerthat he would adapt a pair of spectacles thereto, it will be apparentthat anything he sees, looking directly ahead, will be of an amber hue.This is because both eyes convey visual impressions to the brain, and inthis instance such impressions will be mixed, those coming from theright eye being amber and those from the left, of the actual colors ofthe objects viewed, the result being a blending of two factors and acomposite image tinged with color. As the golfer assumes his stance, hefaces the ball, said ball appearing to him as amber colored, asexplained above. Before he commences his pivot, however, he slowly turnshis head to the right until the ball is seen as white, he now beinglooking at the ball through the left eye, the nose having cut oil theamber light from the right.- This condition is largely made possible bythe greater convexity of lens II, it being possible to, in effect, lookout of the side thereof with as much freedom and absence of visionobstructing elements as it is to look straight ahead with an ordinarylens. In this connection, it is deemed preferable to mount the templebars II at a point and on a plane above the center of the lenses, inorder that these elements may in no way interfere with the vision of theuser.

Having turned his head to the right as aforesaid, the golfer now findshis head and body in proper place for a perfect golf stroke. As long asthis position is maintained, he sees the ball as white, viewing it as hedoes through the outer segment oflerm II, but the instant his head isout of position and the swing jumps the groove, the player is notifiedby seeing the ball through the amber glass.

for each swing and insures substantially the same' swing each time.

Repeated practice with the correct swing will result in grooving thestroke, with attendant advantages as aforesaid.

It is apparent that the same result may be secured by having differentcolored lenses on each side, or by reversing the order of the lensesdescribed herein, any arrangement whereby a change of color or colorintensity will accompany a movement of the head from a given position,being considered within the scope of this invention.

Attention is now called .to the modification shown in in which guidelines l5 are placed upon lens ill The position of these lines will bemade to vary with the individual golfer, but once having been determinedby a golf professional or other expert, they will enable the player tostill further groove his stroke by sighting through the space on thelens between said indicating math, or horizontally along such, andlining up the ball in this manner. When this is done, the head isadjusted to a perfect golfing position, and by maintaining suchthrough-out the stroke, the

golfer is enabled to further guarantee a grooved stroke and cometposition at the important instant when he strikes the ball.

Some persons, such as elderly individuals, find it inexpedient to turnthe head as far to the right as in the case of the more robust golfer,and in order that a person of the first mentioned class may view theball through the clear segment of the glass without turning his head tothe extent found desirable for the ordinary player, I provide an opaquesection I! for the left side or corner of the right lens, which sectionmay be formed in any suitable manner, as by enameling or frosting thissegment, and is of a size sufilcient to meet the needs of the person forwhom the device is From the foregoing it is apparent that I havedisclosed a new and useful device whereby a golfer is enabled tomechanically groove his stroke. That my device is simple in operation,economical to manufacture, and constructed along scientific lines andwith scientific principles in view. While I have describedmy'inventionprimarily in connection with the game of golf, I do notintend to limit myself in this regard, but intend that my inventionshall be held to cover any use wherein said invention or the essencethereof may be found desirable. Further, while I have described acertain form of my device, I do not limit myself specifically thereto,but intend that I shall be accorded a reasonable range of equivalents inkeeping with a fair interpretation of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a frame, a pair oftransparent lenses in said frame, the right lens being colored, and theleft lens being clear, and guide lines on said last mentioned lens forthe purpose specified.

2. A device of the character described comprising a pair of lenses, theleft lens being of greater convexity than the right, said lenses beingof unequal transparency, guide lines upon one of the lenses, an opaquesection extending from the inner side of the opposite lens and towardsthe center thereof, and means for supporting said lenses in operativeposition before the eyes of a user.

3. A device of the character described comprising a pair of lenses, theleft lens being of greater convexity than the right, said lenses beingof unequal transparency, an opaque section extending a predetermineddistance from the inner side of the right lens and in the same planetherewith, and means for supporting said lenses in operative positionbefore the eyes of a wearer.

4. A device for enabling a golfer to maintain his head in a correctposition throughout the golf stroke, thereby producing a grooved oruniform stroke with regularity, said device comprising a frame and apair of transparent lenses in said frame, said lenses being of greaterthan ordinary area, the right lens being colored and the -left lensbeing clear, said clear lens being of greater convexity than the saidcolored lens.

5. A device for enabling a golfer to maintain his head in a correctposition throughout the golf stroke, thereby producing a grooved strokewith regularity, said device comprising a pair of transparent lenses,the lens through which the golfer views the ball when his head is inproper position being clear, and the opposite lens being colored, andmeans to support said lenses before the eyes of a user.

HEW B. MCMURDO.

